John Isaac Franklin "Frank" Anthes was born October 16, 1870 in Berlin (later Kitchener), Ontario to John Schmitt Anthes and Lydia Catherine Anthes. Following graduation from high school, Anthes worked in the furniture business with his father. In 1900, he was appointed assistant manager of Canadian Furniture Manufacturers, the former Burr Bros., in Guelph, Ontario and later Wiarton, Ontario. He worked in the local rubber industry from 1906 to 1916, representing the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Co. during the building of the Dominion Tire Factory. In 1915 he was appointed vice-president of the company's Montreal head office, service as the general purchasing supervisor from 1917 to 1919 before leaving the company to start his own business. He married Cyrena H. Simonds on November 10, 1897 and together they had five children. He died in 1933 and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener.